1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to discovery of a new hantavirus species. In particular, the present invention relates to the isolated Bayou hantavirus, to attenuated or inactivated derivatives of the Bayou hantavirus, to nucleic acids of the new hantavirus, and to nucleic acid reagents and antibodies for use in methods of detection and prevention of infection by the new virus.
2. Background Art
In general, hantaviruses are spherical 28-nm viruses that were initially identified from the feces of rodents. They have distinctive ultrastructural glycoprotein surfaces of 5-10 nm that are embedded in a lipid bi-layer envelope. The negative sense RNA of the viral genome consists of three segments, generally designated as S, M, and L for the small, medium, and large genome fragments, respectively. The S segment encodes a nucleocapsid protein (N) and the M segment encodes the surface qlycoproteins G1 and G2. (Schmaljohn, C. S. et al., Fund. Virol. 545:545 (1991)). The S segment may additionally encode a 6.times.10.sup.3 -dalton protein. (Bishop, D. H. L. Bunyaviridae and their replication. In, Virology, 2nd ed. B. N. Fields and D. M. Knipe, Eds. Raven Press, Ltd. (1990)). The L segment encodes the viral polymerase gene. (Elliott, M. Molecular biology of the Bunyaviridae. J. Gen. Virol. 71:501-522 (1990)). Seven species of hantavirus are currently recognized and are designated Hantaan (HTN) virus species, Seoul (SEO) virus species, Puumala (PUU) virus species, Dobrava-Belgrade (DOB) virus species, Prospect Hill virus species (PH), Harvest Mouse (HM) virus species, and the Sin Nombre (SN) virus species. Infection with these viral agents is usually contracted through contact with the feces and urine of infected rodents, the primary reservoir of hantaviruses in nature.
Until recently, hantaviruses were thought to be responsible for causing human diseases collectively called hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in southeast Asia (HTN, SEO) and in western Europe (PUU), or not associated with human disease (PH). In May and June, 1993, an outbreak of an unknown disease presenting the abrupt onset of fever, myalgia, headache, cough and finally respiratory failure in the southwestern United States led to the description of the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). A new hantavirus pathogenic for humans, the Sin Nombre (SN) virus was isolated and determined to be the causative agent of this disease. The primary reservoir for the Sin Nombre virus was found to be deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus. Through Dec. 31, 1993, this disease was confirmed in 53 persons with a 60% fatality ratio.
The present invention provides a previously unreported species of hantavirus as the causative agent of a HPS occurrence in Louisiana. This represents a new and distinct serotype of hantavirus and is designated the Bayou hantavirus.